The UK could halve its demand for energy by 2050 without compromising quality of life, according to researchers who say curbing energy use will be vital to meeting the country鈥檚 climate targets.
A growth in vegan diets from 3 per cent of the population to a quarter, steps to ensure that electronics, clothing and cars last much longer and a 25 per cent cut in travel by making local services closer to people are among the more than 500 changes examined in a by the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS), a research institute based across 24 universities. The team behind the report also looked at increased car sharing and a frequent flier levy for aviation.
鈥淲e can reduce energy demand by improving quality of life for most residents in the UK,鈥� says , one of the report鈥檚 authors, who is based at the University of Leeds, UK. 鈥淭his is a low-risk option to deliver on our global [climate] targets.鈥� Meeting the targets by relying on costly technologies, such as machines to remove carbon dioxide from the air, would be riskier, he says.
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The CREDS team points out that the UK government has no comprehensive plan for energy reduction at present and limits itself to energy-efficiency measures, such as better insulation of buildings. With current policies, energy demand will fall by just 5 per cent by mid-century.
But in the four modelled scenarios in which the UK reaches its net-zero emissions target by 2050, the two听lowest-energy ones would see demand fall by 41 per cent or 52 per cent. The research is built on sectoral models for transport, buildings, food and industry, several of which are also used by the government.
Barrett and his colleagues are calling for the government to draw up an energy demand reduction plan as soon as possible. But Barrett acknowledges that the radical and potentially controversial nature of some of the required shifts means successfully halving energy demand will be a challenge.
鈥淯nder the current political thinking, the reality is it鈥檚 probably not feasible,鈥� he says of a 52 per cent cut. 鈥淲hat we in essence are doing is providing a challenge to current thinking and hopefully changing the narrative.鈥�
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy says the government is committed to 鈥渁dvancing measures to improve efficiency and reduce overall usage鈥�.
The report鈥檚 scenarios see lower energy demand than envisaged by the UK government鈥檚 advisers, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), says at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, a thinktank. 鈥淏ut this simply shows that there are different ways of reaching net zero, offering choices for the UK,鈥� he says.
at the website CarbonBrief says greater efforts to reduce demand will make it easier to decarbonise energy supplies, but whether the cuts modelled by CREDS are possible will depend on what the government chooses to prioritise. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e less ambitious on efficiency, it means greater pressure to deliver zero-carbon energy, or even larger reliance on negative emissions technologies that are unproven at scale,鈥� he says.
The report comes after UK prime minister Boris Johnson on Monday that 鈥渨e can get to complete clean energy production by 2035鈥�, up on around . A statement from the Conservative Party said the government will set a target for all electricity generation to be decarbonised by 2035, in line with the goal recommended by the CCC. At least a quadrupling in offshore wind farm capacity and a minimum of one more large new nuclear power station are expected to be the main two ways the UK achieves this.
